Published by the Waynesville R-VI School District March 7, 2014

Make-up days scheduled Due to previous inclement weather days, school will be in session on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – March 17, March 18 and March 19. These will be full school days.

Above, the Waynesville High School Boys Basketball Team won the District Championship Thursday, March 6, beating Washington 60-54 in overtime. The boys have advanced to the sectional round that will be played at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 12, at Camdenton. The price of admission is $6.00 for everyone school aged and above; no passes are accepted at the gate. WHS will play the winner of the Jefferson City and Hickman game. To see more photos, go to the district’s Athletics website and go to the Boys Varsity Basketball page or click here. At right, after encouraging Waynesville basketball players to do their best in the district playoffs, Maj. Gen. Leslie Smith guards Kellieon Williams, a 6’7” senior, on the court.

At this time, Spring Break will be Thursday and Friday, March 20 and 21. School will also be in session on April 18, May 27 and May 28.

DESE has created a new model teacher evaluation “and it looks a lot like the seven principles we have been following for the past three years,” says Darrel Vaughan, assistant superintendent of personnel services. When comparing the district’s current evaluation to the model developed by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the most notable changes would: • increase the number of times an evaluator is in the classroom • focus on key indicators that are based on student performance (at least one each would be district-wide, building specific and an individual) • provide for immediate feedback from some classroom evaluations • reduce the number of indicators from 52 to 36 • reduce the number of standards from 10 to 9 • provide a development sequence for teachers “We have high expectations for our teachers already in place,” Vaughan says. “If the Board adopts the new model teacher evaluation for the 2014-15 school year, it will just reinforce our focus on student growth and achievement.” Vaughan presented a synopsis of the model evaluation Aug. 19 to the Waynesville R-VI Board of Education and will provide an update during Thursday’s Board meeting. Administrators will continue training on and discussion of the model over the next few weeks and will share additional information with teachers

District continues to study model teacher evaluation

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subsequently. The district plans to adopt a version of this model for use next school year. To learn more about the model teacher evaluation, click here or go to http://dese.mo.gov/eq/ees.htmWhy the potential change? DESE’s website explains: “In June 2010, Senate Bill 291 was passed, directing public school districts in Missouri to adopt teaching standards to ensure that students continually grow and improve. While the districts are responsible for actually adopting standards, the Department of

Model Teacher Evaluation The Waynesville Middle School Interact Club will host the Race for the Ribbons at 8 a.m. Saturday April 12.The race will begin and end at the middle school. Participants may walk or run and the cost of registration is $25.00. Registration includes an electronic running bib and a T-shirt. All proceeds will be donated to one of three local charities: Snack-in-Pack, Red Ribbon Week at WMDS and Waynesville R-VI Homeless Youth. Participants may choose which ribbon they wish to support.

Elementary and Secondary Education was given the task of offering model standards for districts to use. The Department is pleased to offer this set of teacher and leader standards that outline the basic principles of teaching and leading that represent best practices for helping students be successful. The standards also encourage students to direct and guide their own learning and highlight the differences that every student brings to the classroom.”

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State Rep. Steve Lynch presented an American Flag and a State of Missouri Flag to Waynesville Middle School Principal John Fluhrer. Both flags came with certificates, verifying they had flown over the Capitol of the State of Missouri. If your school needs a flag, contact Rep. Lynch’s office.

Ribbons race

Members of the Waynesville Career Center/High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Chapter attended the 2014 District 11 FBLA Leadership Conference on Feb. 19 at the School of the Osage High School. FBLA is a career and technical student organization for all high school students participating in business programs. Many members and advisers representing 19 chapters throughout the region met to elect district officers, transact business of the district chapter, and compete in the district leadership awards program. Shania Taylor of our local chapter retired her position as District 11 Reporter. Delegates representing the Waynesville Chapter in the district competitive leadership awards program were: 1st place: Hipolit Cichocki, Personal Finance; Tremayne Watterson, Impromptu Speaking; Shania Taylor and Kaylynne Blanco, in both Web Site Design and Digital Design and Promotion. 2nd Place: Hipolit Cichocki, Economics. 5th Place: Alex Diaz, Business Math; and Sarah Swier, Introduction to Business. The first place winners in performance events and the top five winners in written events will represent District 11 at the State Leadership Conference in Columbia, April 13-15. Other winners (but not eligible to advance to state) include: 2nd place, Tremayne Watterson and Jessica Kane, Sports and Entertainment Management; and Shania Taylor, Desktop Publishing; 4th Place, Javier Diaz, Public Speaking; 8th Place, Philip Holmes, Business Calculations; 9th Place, Philip Holmes, Personal Finance; Hipolit Cichocki, Health Care Administration; and Michael Johnson-Gonzalez, Accounting 1. Ginny Box and Tammy Taylor are the local chapter advisers and accompanied the students to the District 11 Conference.

Members of the Waynesville Career Cetner’s FBLA Chapter will advance to the state competition on April 13-15.

FBLA students advance to state

Central office staff focused on three main topics during recent site visits: professional development planning; public education in the news; and upcoming challenges/opportunities. Professional development In general, staff requested more professional development opportunities specifically relevant to grade levels and/or content areas or areas of specialty. Suggestions for opportunities to practice professional development and then get feedback for follow-up were also common across the district. Many expressed appreciation for utilization of instructional coaches this year. We were encouraged to continue to be progressive as a district in the area of professional development. Most staff indicated they preferred having opportunities for professional development at times when school was not in session. (As a reminder, the district will not require a specified number of PD hours next year as we will be returning to the standard 174-day calendar for student attendance.)Education in the news Answers received during our site visits suggest many staff do not pay a lot of attention to public education topics discussed in the media. Several said this was due to the mostly prevalent

Site visits on PD, news, opportunitiesnegative tone of the media about public education. Some specific topics that were attention-getters included teacher tenure, test score comparisons, CCSS, and general undermining of public education through ongoing legislative proposals.Challenges/opportunities Most staff mentioned fluctuations in student enrollment as a result of upcoming reductions in personnel attached to Fort Leonard Wood as the greatest challenge/opportunity for our district. Several expressed concern about increased expectations related to MSIP 5 and post-secondary preparation. We were encouraged to work on positive relationships with parents and continue to improve communication and transparency in general. There also were many comments about the use of technology, including access and demand for increased availability. Several talked about the use of technology in testing and whether students would be adequately prepared for new assessments requiring greater technological skills. We continue to appreciate the opportunity to visit with always busy staff members who take a few minutes of prep time or break time to share thoughts with us. Your feedback makes a difference!

Results from Dr. Judene Blackburn, superintendent

Maj. Gen. Leslie Smith spoke with Waynesville basketball players, emphasizing the importance of teamwork, having a plan and leadership. Smith is Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood commanding general.

Congratulations to the following Waynesville students for placing in the Science Olympiad held March 1 at the Missouri University of Science and Technology regional:

Boomilever 4th place John Parker & Michael O’DonnellScrambler 4th place John Parker & Michael O’DonnellChemistry Lab 4th place Madison Wooley & Savannah BlauRocks and Minerals 4th place Madison Wooley & Savannah BlauMaterials Science 2nd place Zach Martinez & Madison WooleyDisease Detectives 2nd place David Kozlowski & Savannah Blau

The District Art Show Open House will be held this Sunday, March 9, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Waynesville Career Center. The Waynesville High School Jazz Band will provide musical entertainment. The event is free and open to the public.

Science Olympiad winners named

Art show rescheduled

On Saturday, March 1, the Waynesville High School Indoor Percussion Ensemble participated in the Percussion Super Show in Edwardsville, Ill., receiving first place in their class for the second week in a row. Other schools participating in the same class were Joplin, Washington, Marquette, and Hazelwood Central. The next drum line competition will be on Saturday, March 22, at Nixa High School. During its first competition of the 2014 season on Feb. 22 at Nixa, the WHS indoor drum line received first place out of eight other performing groups in their class from around the state of Missouri. This year’s show theme is titled “RELIC.” It portrays the battle between two opposing sides as they fight each other in hope of protecting the relic. “This year’s show is exciting, intense, and very fast paced,” says Jared Sabatasso, the ensemble’s director. “The students are really starting to buy in to the show and are performing at a very high level. I am excited to see where this show leads us.” During the Feb. 22 event, the drumline competed against Ozark, Joplin, Washington, Fort Zumwalt West, Lee’s Summit, Harrisonville, and Webb City. Catie Pollman, a junior drumline member commented on the win, “I was really excited when they said we placed first. We have worked really hard up to this point and I’m glad it is paying off. I am looking forward to our next competition and the rest of the season.”

The I-STEM-21 Program hosted Science Nights at several elementary buildings to help bring awareness to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) with Waynesville parents and students. Participating schools were Freedom, Partridge, Thayer, Williams-ECC and Wood. Science night participants conducted three different experiments: one focused on levers, one on properties of water and bungee Barbie. Williams-ECC students had several stations set up to explore the five senses. At all locations parents and students had a great time. The I-STEM-21 team members would like to thank all the building principals, teachers who helped work the Science Nights and those who helped collect and hand out the RSVP forms, and the custodial staff at all the buildings for helping with set up and materials for clean up.

Drum Line takes 1st

Students conduct experiments during Science Nights